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Hey TENNESSEE! Jump on the tailgate..let’s talk election. Updated

The Anybody-But-Alexander voters won. (finally)

As to personal preferences – I would have liked nothing better than to see Lamar Alexander get his comeuppance. Who is Alexander, you ask? Good question. If you have lived in TN for the last decade or more you may not know it, but he is a Senator You may not know it because he has not kept in touch with you. This is true especially if you do not have thousands of dollars to throw at his campaign.

UPDATE: The Anybody-But-Alexander voters made a real showing Thursday despite what the final numbers look like.

Alexander – 49.7%

Carr – 40.5%

5 Other Republican Candidates – 9.8%

When Joe Carr’s numbers are added to those of the other 5 Republican candidates we’re given 50.3% Yes, Alexander can claim a win and I have no doubt he’s being patted on the back right now by his fellow establishment Senators. That’s not to say all the voters of the other candidates would have rallied around Carr, but rather pointing out Alexander is not as well loved as he thinks he is. In 2006 no one dared go against him in the primary because he was the perennial TN politician. The man was the governor and Secretary of Education for a couple years under G.H.W. Bush, so of course he’s made friends along the way.

So, would more money have helped Carr? What about a few more endorsements from other local and national conservatives? I could offer up a nuts and bolts but this article yesterday from National Journal sums it up pretty well. Dissecting what Alexander did and said to his opponents and how he wrangled every lawmaker in the state to his side. Here’s a snip of how Alexander worked behind the scenes and how all other lawmakers were eating out of his hand:

“For others, the directive from Alexander was more firm. Flinn, who remains on the ballot, says Alexander and his allies actively pressured him to stay out of the race. “They said, ‘I guarantee you he’ll ruin you in the Republican Party,’ ” Flinn said of the calls.”

It wasn’t like he said “Hey do me a solid and drop out”. It was a threat. But politics ain’t beanbag, and Alexander has obviously inherited the McConnell gene.

Takeaway this: There are more people who don’t like him than do like him. He may not care, but we need to remind him of that fact every chance we get and with every vote he takes. And for crying out loud, we have to hold all the other lawmakers feet to the fire as well for this debacle. Was their support out of genuine love of this guy or did he threaten their political futures? Or maybe promise them something to help them along later? Are they so worried about the fallout which might occur by going against him that they don’t care enough about the way he votes and hurts our country?

Enjoy the thread and say whatever the mods will allow you to get away with. ( Yes, I know it takes the burden off me but that’s why they get paid the big bucks.)